Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume 18 Article 2 Issue 4 February Winter 1928 National Crime Commission Conference E. R. Cass Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminology Commons, and the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons Recommended Citation E. R. Cass, National Crime Commission Conference, 18 Am. Inst. Crim. L. & Criminology 497 (1927-1928) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized editor of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. NATIONAL CRIME COMMISSION CONFERENCE E. R. CASS2 Crime, from whatever standpoint it is considered, is seen to transcend in importance most of the other great problems of the day. It is a more complex, phenomenon than is generally supposed, and is a constant source of degradation of public and private morality. The citizens of many states have been aroused because of crime, more particularly spectacular crime, and the many statements, some accurate, and too many inaccurate, relative to it and the treatment of the criminal. Attempts to determine the exact *crime situation and its causes bring forth marked differences of opinion. Many reforms are proposed, and cover the entire range of administrative activities from the pblice to the final Court of Appeals, and even the conduct of governors in criminal matters. Each separate official agency dealing with crime defends its methods and attempts to place the responsi- bility elsewhere. In the meantime the. public mind is left in a state of confusion and alarm. Early in November a conference on crime was held in Wash- ington, D. C., under the auspices of the National Crime Commission. This gathering, in accordance with its purpose, served well to inform many persons and organizations of the existence of others in the fight on crime, and of their viewpoints, accomplishments, problems, objec- tives, and methods. The report of the National Crime Commission, available at the conference, stated that the Commission came into existence to take advantage of the temporary awakening of popular alarm to secure the establishment of state and city bodies, composed of qualified and conservative men, to go over the weak spots in the judicial armor of the different states, and obtain a legislative enactment of statutes which would remain after the crime excitement itself had subsided. Further, that, although only a year had passed since the Commission had announced its determination to encourage the establishment of local bodies, and while at that time there were practically only three such bodies existing, there were represented at the conference twenty-six commissions, and over fifty additional important organizations, which have tdken up seriously the question of crime reduction. Of course iHeld in Washington Nov. 2 and 3, 1927. 2President of the American Prison Association. 498 E. R. CASS it should be remembered that, particularly in the latter group of organizations, many had been engaged in the work of crime preven- tion for years. An index to widespread public concern, in the report, is the statement, prepared from legislative records in forty-two states, show- ipg that there were 2,261 amendments to the penal codes introduced, 587 of which were passed and less than 20 vetced by the governors. While there is not available at this time an analysis of the character of the legislation enacted it can be said with certainty that much of it is punitive. It is frequently referred to as an effort to put "teeth into the- law," represents only one side of preventive effort, and too often neglects a consideration and study of the more deep rooted reasons for the existence of crime. The opening session of the conference was devoted to a brief statement of the work and plans of state and city crime commissions and crime committees. These reports were made with considerable enthusiasm and satisfaction, and practically all sounded alarm. The word "vigilante" was revived in the report of a representative of the American Bankers' Association. The vigilantes are present today in the middle and far West, principally for the purpose of warding off attacks on banks. In Ohio it seems that the organization of vigilantes aims to educate, awaken, and inspire communities to stricter enforcement of law, but close examination of its report indicates again that the effort is wholly in the direction of punitive methods and the strengthening of the existing crime machinery. It may be that citizens of the middle and far West feel that they have no local crime problem other than that caused by the invasion of those from other parts of the country, and therefore need not give any attention to preventive effort! through a study of life within their own com- munities. A further analysis of the statements made by the various groups reporting at the first session will show that, in addition to increasing penalties and tightening up generally the criminal court procedure, they express a tendency to discard some relatively new methods, nainely, probation, the indeterminate sentence and parole. These systems were frequently advancect as the "cause-all" of the crime situation. Practically nothing was said that would indicate that these systems possess considerable merit, and that, with few exceptions, they had not received a thorough and wholesome opportunity for the demonstration of their maximum benefits, and that, after all, while sound in theory they were weak in administration. CRIME COMMISSION 499 Unfortunately, the' trend in this connection -was therefore the elimination of these systems rather than a strengthening of their ad- ministration. A return to good, old-fashioned, hard justice was some- thing of a keynote. Lost sight of was the fact that this much be- loved type of crime treatment had been tried for decades previously and found wanting. Moderation was lacking in most of the reports of the various crime bodies, and it' was evident that-those interested in the various movements saw only a part of the whole picture of crime. One exception, possibly, was that of the report of the New York State Crime. Commission, ably presented by its Vice-Chairman, Hon. Burton D. Esmond. Analysis of the report shows that that body is striving to see the crime problem in its broadest aspects, and while appreciating the need of improving court procedure and strength- ening the administration of probation and parole, has, at the same time attempted to learn something of the 'conditions that bring young boys and girls, men and women, into conflict with the law. The mem- bers of the Commission deserve to be commended, and their efforts should serve as a beacon light of intelligent procedure and well rounded effort for other crime studying bodies. At thi luncheon meeting a more sober and better balanced ap- proach was made to the crime situation, and one of the fundamental weaknesses of the whole situation in respect to the measuring of the extent of crime, was emphasized through a plea for the setting up of necessary machinery and standards for the gathering ,of crim- inal statistics. The lack of uniform and reliable criminal statistics in the United States is the cause of confusion and regret, and is responsible for ridicule from workers in foreign countries. It is a condition that has been noted and complained of for decades. One can easily obtain from the Home Office in London' complete and reliable statistical and other information relative to crime in England. That is impossible in the United States because each state keeps records in its own way. Professor Raymond Moley of Columbia -University, one of the speakers, summarized the needs as follows: We want to know more than we now know concerning the number of crimes that are reported to public authorities in this country. That is the measure of crime. We want to know &hat happens ,to those who are arrested. We want to know what happens to these cases that are thus ini- tiated. We want to know how many drop out in preliminary hearings. We want to know how many drop out in the next stage. Then after we know these few simple facts, we want to cross-reference them and corre- late them in order to determine, so far as possible, what degree of effi- ciency our agencies for the prosecution of criminals are attaining. We 500 E. R. CASS want to know more about our prisoners. We want to know more about the operation of parole. We want to know more about the operation of probation. We can not just thoughtlessly discredit these new agencies for correction. We must know more about what they have done. Important also were the remarks of .Mr. William M. Steuart, Director of the Bureau of Census, Washington, D. C. We have been so absorbed in collecting data that will assist us in our industrial, business, and financial advancement that I am afraid we have neglected the more fundamental questions involved in social improvement. To assemble such information does not in any degree encroach upon State rights and privileges. During the last thirty years the Bureau of Census has been engaged in persuading State governments to adopt uniform laws providing for the proper registration of the number of births and the num- ber and causes of deaths, establishing what is known as a registration area. It is to be regretted that, notwithstanding our persistent efforts in this direction, and the expenditure annually of considerable sums, there are still eight States without proper birth registration and six States without proper death registration.